Kids to create St Eugene’s Cathedral in Lego

Brendan McDaid

Children from Derry are planning to build a Lego version of St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry to mark the Year of Mercy.

An appeal has now been issued to local people with spare Lego pieces to donate them towards the project.

A lego version of Cathedral.

St Eugene’s Youth Minister Emmet Thompson said the idea came about after they read in the Derry Journal about the Brick Wonders competition and exhibition taking place over the coming weeks in the city.

Tickets for the Brick Wonders Exhibition, which runs from February 6 to May 2, have just gone on sale at the Nerve Centre.

The exhibition will feature the stunning brick creations of Warren Elsmor, with over 70 Lego models depicting the Wonders of the World, old and new, on display.

Local Lego builders still have over a week to complete their own creations in the Brick Wonders competition, which closes on January 22.

Enthusiasts from across Ireland have been invited to construct the ‘Wonder of their County’ using LEGO bricks and take part in regional heats. The final heat will take place in the city, and will be exhibited in a special Lego Trail.

Speaking about the Cathedral project, Mr Thompson said they hoped to be able to exhibit as part of the wider exhibition and, time permitting, enter it into the competition.

Explaining why the local parish decided to get involved he said: “We thought it was a good ideas to engage with the younger children and appeal to parishioners to donate Lego for this. We have had a couple of people who have dropped some off and we are having to get more now.

“This is about engaging with youth and developing faith based programmes which encourage children to come into the Church and develop their own faith.

“With the Cathedral being such an iconic building in the city we felt this would be a good project to inform them about the history as well.”

Once the donations are in, Primary 7 children from St Anne’s, Rosemount and St Eugene’s Schools will be asked to get involved in the construction of the cathedral, working alongside four young adult volunteers from Derry Youth Community.

Whatever Lego is donated will be spray painted to reflect the hues of the city’s Catholic Cathedral. Local people are advised that they can drop the unwanted pieces of Lego into the Sacristy of St Eugene’s Parochial House.